Page 13 of The Catcher (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #5)

O ne step forward and two steps back came with every investigation.

Experience had taught him that patience was paramount.

Nothing was solved overnight. It was a painful process of collecting evidence, eliminating suspects, and disseminating what they knew to other agencies.

Keeping everyone in the loop was a must. And that was precisely what Porter had done when obtaining location information from the two teens’ phone companies.

Noah exited his vehicle and was met by Porter. As they ascended the steps into the high school, he fell in step.

Noah’s urgency surged as he entered the school, his footsteps echoing through the corridors.

“We had the company ping Landry’s phone, and it came back from this location,” Porter said as he briefed Noah.

“The company sent over the records. There’s been no activity on the phone since the two teens went missing two days ago.

We have GPS data, so we should be able to determine the building or room.

The phone actually has IPS technology, which will pinpoint where the device is within the building. ”

Noah’s mind raced, absorbing the information as he pressed on, his strides purposeful.

“And the Matthews girl?” Noah inquired.

“Nothing so far on her phone,” Porter replied, his tone mirroring Noah’s urgency.

“What caused the delay in getting the autopsy report?” McKenzie interjected.

“What?”

“Addie said she sent it over to you yesterday.”

“I never saw it.”

“Do you ever check your email?” McKenzie asked.

“As much as you do.”

“Obviously not.”

“How about you focus on your job? I’ll focus on mine.”

“I would if my job didn’t overlap with yours.”

Noah felt the tension rising, the pressure mounting as they navigated through the school’s halls. Time was of the essence, and every second counted in their quest for answers. “Guys!” Noah blurted out, his voice cutting through the frantic exchange.

McKenzie scowled at Porter. No sooner had they arrived when they were greeted by the high school principal, Darren Wright, and a janitor.

“Detectives. Good to see you. You’ll have to forgive the chaos right now. We’re draining the pool over the weekend to do some repairs. “Whatever you need, just let me know,” Wright offered .

McKenzie slapped the principal on the shoulder. “Thank you,” he replied.

Porter wasted no time, leading the way as he followed the trail — using the IPS and GPS data — through a maze of corridors. Their footsteps echoed against the linoleum floors, adding to the tension. They went up a flight of steps, until they stopped outside a classroom door.

Porter tried the handle, finding it locked. “Whose class is this?” he asked, turning to Wright for answers.

“Mitchell Emerson. He’s a social studies teacher,” Wright replied before motioning to the janitor. “Joe, can you open the door.”

Keys jangled as he thumbed through them, then inserted one.

They entered the classroom, Porter leading the way as he used his phone to pinpoint the exact location they were searching for.

“Technology today — wild, isn’t it?” McKenzie remarked. “There was a time when I couldn’t find my keys. Now you can buy those tags from Apple and attach them to keys, and boom, all your nightmares are over. Of course, it relies on knowing where your phone is.”

Porter made his way around the desk, his focus unwavering. “The drawers are locked. Do you have a key for these?” he inquired, directing his question to Wright.

“I can get into it,” the janitor said.

“No need, I have it,” a voice said from behind. Noah turned to see a teacher enter.

“Ah, Mr. Emerson,” Wright said .

“What are these people doing here?” Emerson asked, eyeing the group with suspicion.

“They’re here about the disappearance of Landry and Matthews,” Wright explained.

“And my desk has something to do with that?” Emerson’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“It seems so, laddie,” McKenzie said, sizing him up as he passed him.

“Would you mind opening it?” Noah interjected. Emerson eyed them before working his way through their midst and taking a set of keys out of his pocket. He approached his desk and unlocked it, stepping back to allow Porter to investigate.

“You always lock your desk?” McKenzie asked.

“You do when you have teens with light fingers,” Emerson replied dryly.

As Porter reached into the desk, Noah turned to Wright. “We’re going to need some time alone with Mr. Emerson. Would you mind?” he asked, gesturing toward the doorway, indicating they needed privacy to conduct their investigation.

“You want to tell us how Pete Landry’s phone ended up in your desk?”

“I confiscated it two days ago.”

“And you’re only telling us now?” McKenzie asked.

Emerson’s gaze bounced between them. “It slipped my mind.”

“But you knew Landry was missing.”

“I found out today. I was off yesterday.”

“Would have been helpful to know sooner. ”

“I wasn’t even thinking about it. Detective, you have to understand that confiscating cell phones is practically a daily occurrence for teachers.

I probably have another three in my other drawer.

I don’t know about you, but we didn’t have them when I was at school.

Now, they have them 24/7 — texting and videoing.

I’m constantly having to tell students to turn off their phones.

And sometimes, I take them away until the end of the day and then return them. ”

“So why didn’t you return his phone?”

Emerson leaned back on his desk and rocked his head back. “Because there was evidence on the phone that I needed to show Principal Wright so he could decide the best course of action.”

“And that would be?”

He motioned for them to give him the phone so he could show them.

Porter gave it to him, and he accessed the phone using a swiping method.

“You know the kid’s unlock code?”

“Yes, I watched him open it,” Emerson replied without looking at them.

He tapped the photo and video icon and then clicked on a video before turning it and showing it.

What Noah saw next was, at first, messy.

Kids laughing. There was a lot of movement.

Tables and chairs screeching back. “Hold him down. Someone grab his legs. Give me that marker pen.” The laughter continued.

A teenager appeared on the screen, telling them to get off.

A hand came into view, grabbing the kid’s face tightly and squeezing while he began to write words on the kid’s face .

LOSER

DUMB

STUPID

The laughter continued until they heard someone shout.

“All right, all right, break it up. Landry, give me that!”

The screen went black.

“That was Pete Landry drawing on his face.”

“Who was the kid on the floor?”

“Nicholas Wilson. There’s been a lot of trouble between him and others in the class. Words were exchanged, but that doesn’t excuse what Landry did.”

Noah nodded. With the screen open, he browsed through some of the text messages inside and the last phone calls made.

Among the text messages, he saw mention of going out to the cinema on a group chat with other teens.

He quickly looked inside the rest of the photos and saw various snapshots of Landry with his girlfriend, his truck, and different sites around High Peaks.

“The Wilson kid. You know what class he’s in?”

“You’d have to speak with the principal. I only have him for social studies.”

“Who else has access to your drawer?”

“Just me.”

Noah nodded.

Porter asked for a moment with Noah, so he stepped outside the room. In the meantime, McKenzie grilled Emerson over some finer details about Landry, his friends, and Wilson.

“What is it?” Noah asked .

“It was turned on.”

“And?”

“The phone company can only ping a phone if it’s turned on because it has to send out a signal.

The youths went missing two days ago. Emerson said he took the phone off Landry two days ago.

Now, if he had left the phone on, it would have run out of power by now.

He must have powered it on today, or someone else did because otherwise, it wouldn’t have pinged.

Why didn’t he contact us if he powered it on today? ”

Noah went back into the room. “Mr. Emerson, you said you were off yesterday. What was that regarding?”

“I didn’t feel very well.”

“Did you go see a doctor?”

“No. I took some meds and curled up.”

“And here you are back at it.”

“I don’t know about you, detective, but I can’t afford to take too much time off. I felt a little better today, so I came in.”

“You have anyone that can confirm your whereabouts from two days ago after school until this morning?”

“My wife works from home as a therapist, and in the evening, my son and daughter are home. I’ll give you their phone numbers.

How’s that?” Noah caught an edge to his voice.

He could tell he didn’t like being put on the spot or made to feel as if he had some involvement in the disappearance of the teens.

Noah shifted his weight from one foot to the next. “Did you turn on that phone earlier today?”

“Yes, I did. ”

“Why?”

He groaned. “I just told you. To show Principal Wright the video. However, I didn’t get to do that because I got called away. I put it back in my drawer. I eventually was told about the two teens and…” He trailed off, looking genuinely concerned. “Well, you’re here now.”

“Did you know the Matthews girl?”

“Hailey? A little. She was in the same class as Landry. All of them were part of a larger group. You know, jocks and whatnot. Landry played sports. Hailey was a cheerleader.”

“And Wilson?”